Shoe fastener



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April Z? 9 lo L. mma@ SHOE FASTENER Filed Juli' 25 1923 u fgj.,

' ly supporting to the parts,

Patented pi. 27, i926.' l

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time ELMEB L. BRIGGS, OF ELYMOUTH, MASSAGEUSETTS.

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Application filed July 25,

To all whom t may concern. l Be it known that L'Emiinit L. Barcos, a citizen of the United States, residing at Plymouth, .in the county of Plymouth and. 'State of Massachusetts,

have invented new and useful Improvements in Shoe Fasteners,

-of which the following is a specification.

f other object of my invention is to provide a inconvenience shoe adaptable t0 athletic wear,- .containing an' elastic fastening edge to the upper, permitting the wearer freedomv of muscular' action and avoiding the binding effect of strings, eyeletsor other unyielding fastenings. In golf, tennis or track shoes, 'strings frequently break or.` become loosened and to the wearer or failure to win is thereby occasioned.

y Another object of my invention is to provide a shoe fastener for infants shoes which is elastic fon bulky 'foot covering and one which may be quickly secured to the foot.- Another object of my invention is to provide a shoe for stout, obese or aged persons, the, closing or fastening of which may be so lspeedily accomplished as to minimize bodily discomfort. Another object of my invention is'to provide a shoel fastener convenient .to wearers having a disabled -arm in that with the remaining one" the shoe may be speedily,

v conveniently and comfortably laced or fastened.

' I accomp'ilish the foregoing objects Y bymeans cfa construction employingan elastic material preferably embodying' a rubber compound attached to and forming the-ad.

Ij'acentfastening edges of the frontal opening o fthe shoe. In 'securing the ease, lcomfort `and support vfor the'foot, ankle 'and leg 0f strings may be em i917. :Reference is made the wearer, the ordinary eyelets and shoe loyed, but in addition to` security in fastening the in combination with the the.fastening edge,

obtain celerity an slioeI prefer to use, elastic material forming a'form of hookless to that art, preferably that shown and ldescribed in the Letters PatentNo; 1,219,881

issued to Gideon Sundback. dated March 20, a in this-patent to the use of the device onvchccsand apparel,

' of a portion of 'separable jfastener known 192s." serial. No. esacss. n

together may be closed without undue resultant strain, whereas my invention makes it applicable to shoes generally,the elastic edge obviating the undue strain in tight fit -practical only where theedges to be broughtv ting as well 'as loose fitting shoes andover-v shoes. It is well known that the fastening edges and frontal openings of shoes vary in kwidth and shape, and are not adapted to Ithe shape of the feet of diderent Wearers, and l have discovered ythatby the use of an elastic fastening edge with such fasteners the strain Aof closing' the shoe will be uniformly and largely eliminated, and will result in -snu ly fitting and at the same time comfortab e footwear. l

I accomplish this shown in the accom.-l

V.2f-2 1n Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detailed plan view ed to'form one of the fastening edges of the frontal opening ofA a shoe and adapted to use with a hookless fastener. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of Fig. 3 taken on the line. 4-4. Fig. 5 is a inodiication showing a detailed plan view of a combination of tape seV a rubber webbing strip adaptand elastic material constituting a strip or stringer adapted to form one of the fasteningedges'of the frontal opening of'a shoe, A,and adapted to use with a hookless fastener.

Fig. 6 is atransverse section ofFig. 'talten on the line fi-6. f j f v vlllie same reference numbers 'indicate cor responding parts'in all the igures.

7 is the upper of a shoe,

showing the froiil tal opening Spartly closed by means of the l vliooklessseparable` fastener l9, inte al -with the elastic fabric 10,` being mounte on a rib l or bead `l1 'formed thereon. The hookless fastener 9 is stopped at thelowr end b the anchor 13, and divides'upwardly there rom,

s reading to allow theeasy t e foot mto the shoe.

In a modified form l to the tape or Stringer 14:, whi`ch in turn. has fast thereto theelastic fabric 15.* This tape is preferably narrow and I find that greater elasticity is shown if the elastic fabricis 'cut on a bias.. I then'attach this elastic fabric introduction of f instead nis attache-Ci' its i 'i' its te the frontal fastening @met theopene i .boots and shoes of all kinds, I do not limit it thereto, as it may be useful in other articles Where it is desirable to fasten together two edges of material under tension.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: A

1. An article of wearing apparel provided f with an opening,'the opposite edges of said opening being composed of elastic material, fastening members on said elastic material on opposite edges of said opening and a member slidable longitudinally of said opening and adapted to bring said fastenin 1 membels into interlocking engagement Wit each other.

2. An article of Wearing apparel provided with an opening, the opposite edges of said opening being composed of rubber abric,l fastening members on said rubber fabric on opposite edges of said opening und a member slidable longitudinally of said opening and adapted to bring said fastening members into interlocking engagement with each 8 other. l

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-third day of,Ju1y,`1923.

ELMER L. BRIGGS, 

